Cooper Tire Europe readies RallyX racing return

RallyX Nordic ‘All-Star Magic Weekend’ at Höljes represents the brand’s return to live motorsport following Coronavirus-related delays

Cooper Tire Europe will return to live motorsport competition next month when RallyX Nordic hosts the ‘All-Star Magic Weekend’ at Höljes. Planned with strict health and safety measures amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the event will run behind closed doors over four days from 2-5 July. Cooper has continued to develop its support for rallycross in recent years, It added the exclusive supply deal for the next three British Rallycross Championship seasons last year.

Cooper Tire Europe is the presenting partner of RallyX Nordic and the associated RallyX on Ice pre-season festival. In RallyX Nordic, the manufacturer supplies both slick and wet tyres for the Supercar and Supercar Lites classes. Cooper’s dedicated dry-weather tyre is the ACB11, which has been designed to provide extreme stability and performance on tarmac and loose surfaces, while its bespoke wet-weather tyre is the RX Moulded Wet, which features a specially-engineered compound to boost start line traction and a highly-tuned construction to enhance handling.

In a rearranged schedule, RallyX Nordic’s 2020 season will now kick-off with the ‘Magic Weekend’ – a standout event on the annual calendar. An additional ‘All-Star’ element is set to feature some of the sport’s biggest names. Two rounds will be staged: the first on Thursday and the second split across Saturday and Sunday. Friday will be dedicated to content creation and driver interviews.

As a closed doors event, there will be no spectators on site. Police and specially-selected volunteers will ensure there is no unauthorised access to the circuit or paddock at any time. Meanwhile, crew numbers for competitors will be limited, with the paddock spread out to allow for more space between awnings. All those in attendance will be strongly encouraged to practice safe and sensible social distancing.

Champions assemble

Drivers confirmed for the event include two-time FIA World Rallycross champion Johan Kristoffersson, two-time RX2 International Series champion Oliver Eriksson and two-time FIA European Rallycross champion and reigning RallyX Nordic champion Robin Larsson. Standout names in the ‘All-Star’ category are 1999 FIA European Rallycross Champion Per Eklund and two-time World Rally Champion Marcus Grönholm, whose son Niclas, another World RX driver, will also take to the track in the Supercar class.

Michiel Kramer, sales and marketing director, Cooper Tire Europe, said: “It is great news that we will return to live racing again with the RallyX Nordic ‘All-Star Magic Weekend’. While Esports events and championships have helped to fill the void over the last few months, live racing has been sorely missed. We cannot wait to hit the track for an action-packed weekend at Höljes.”

Jan-Erik Steen, CEO, RX Promotion, RallyX Nordic’s Promoter, said: “As our presenting partner, Cooper Tire Europe has been a key part of the success of RallyX Nordic since the series’ inception. The first-class products that they supply to our competitors play an instrumental role in the close, exciting racing for which RallyX Nordic is so well-known. We look forward to seeing more drivers than ever before experience the benefits of Cooper’s expertise at our ‘All-Star Magic Weekend’.”

Robin Larsson, 2019 RallyX Nordic and two-time FIA European Rallycross Champion, said: “I have been driving on Cooper tyres for several years, and had them on my car when I won both RallyX Nordic and FIA Euro RX last season. For me, it is important that a tyre has good durability, and what Cooper provides is a very good ‘all-round’ product that works well on both asphalt and gravel – a big factor in our sport.”

Alongside RallyX Nordic, Cooper is the sole tyre supplier to the FIA World Rallycross Championship and the sister FIA European Rallycross Championship. It was also recently selected to supply the FIA European Autocross Championship.